Jose Mourinho’s start at Manchester United was not a very special one but the Red Devils are slowly building some good momentum at an important period. With their 2-0 win against West Brom on Saturday, they are now 10 games unbeaten in all competitions and are not too far away from the fourth spot. However, the lack of depth and quality in the squad will definitely concern Mourinho and we can expect the next two transfer windows to be quite busy at Old Trafford.
According to the Mirror United have been scouting Victor Lindelof for a few months and have been impressed with what they have seen from the Swede and made their interest official after watching him play against Sporting Lisbon last week. The Red Devils have made a £38 million offer to sign the Swedish international after failing to sign the defender for just £30m in the summer, as per the Mirror.
Even though Manchester United could get their man for £30m in the next summer, Mourinho’s determination to get him in January by paying almost £8m extra says a lot about the player. We have seen many players from Benfica making it big in world football over the years and Lindelof seems to be the next big thing from the Eagles’ academy.
Mourinho, himself belonging from Portugal, has close contacts in his homeland and must have seen enough to be impressed by the Swedish youngster that he wants so badly. Interestingly, Manchester United’s defending of late has not been that bad. Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have kept two clean sheets in the seven days, as they’ve forged a partnership in the absences of Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly. Mourinho also has Daley Bind at his disposal who is well capable of plying his trade at centre-back.
Blessed with a frame of 6’2”, Lindelof boasts good strength which will work in his favour if he makes a Premier League move. He is a beast in the air which is well-reflected from his 2 aerial balls won every game. The 22-year-old is not a fancy defender but a no-nonsense one, exactly what Mourinho wants in his defenders. The stopper has made as many as 4.2 clearances every game this season.
He is also a quite versatile player who can play at right-back or in defensive midfield. The Swedish international’s ability to pick out passes will help him succeed at the top level. He has played 3.1 long balls every game this season while his overall passing accuracy is 87.2%. Still only 22, Lindelof can improve a lot in coming years in order to become a long-term success at Old Trafford.
